Cobb County Officials Vote to Add More Police Officers

“We’re hoping that these 40 will be filled sometime this summer, late fall.  And then start looking toward the additional officers for the remaining precincts sometime in 2015,” says County Chairman Tim Lee.

This move comes just over a month after Jack Forsythe resigned as Cobb’s Public Safety Director.

In an interview earlier this year with WABE’s Michelle Wirth, Forsythe said the county was understaffed.An audio version of this story.

Forsythe also said a lack of funding and resources kept him from improving security in the area.

However, Lee refutes those claims, saying Forsythe’s successor, Sam Heaton, doesn’t have those issues.

“Heaton brought forth ideas that we can implement, with rationale and support for those recommendations.  And the prior director failed to complete the whole process,” said Lee.

Lee says the county is also working toward increasing flexibility within the police department to help it run more efficiently.